[X] My Assistant

[volcanopele]

The RADAR team today released portions of the SAR swath acquired during the T8 encounter Friday morning. For reference, a map of their coverage is available at :

http://pirlwww.lpl.arizona.edu/~perry/T8_RADAR_coverage.jpg

I will be updating this map to include boxes showing the locations of the sections released.

Tectonic Features
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03566
This image shows feature in the central part of Adiri. For comparison, check out the Huygens landing site map using VIMS data released in January. The areas covered in cat scratches in this RADAR view are the dark features seen in the middle of Adiri near center left in the VIMS mosaic. The somewhat lighter band running from top to bottom in the RADAR view just left of center is the bright north-stripe in the middle of the dark patch in the VIMS view. Other cat scratchless areas in the RADAR view correspond to bright albedo features in VIMS and ISS.

Note here chains of ridges and hills within Adiri, suggesting tectonic activity. The ring of material at far left may be a degraded crater but that hasn't been confirmed.

Dunes Galore
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03567
This image shows cat scratches, thought to be longitudinal dunes, in southeastern Senkyo. Again, in the equatorial regions of Titan, we see these dunes covering much of the landscape. You can see stream line forms assocated with aeolian erosion (not caused by liquid methane flow, these dunes are WAY too big for that).

Diverse Geology
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03568
This image covers several large islands in the divide between Senyko and Belet. Note the dark, stubby channel terminator in good sized smooth region without cat scratches. So there is at least some evidence for fluid flow in the equatorial regions.

Pinpointing Huygens Landing Site
http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03569
This composite shows the Huygens landing site region. Note that the position may shift slightly over time, probably slightly to the north east, as I think the island to the north of the current position is the large island seen in Huygens images. The two cat scratches seen in the RADAR swath north of the landing site maybe the two dark lines seen in Rene's mosaic. Definitely will need confirmation of this. Note once again the prevalence of dunes north of the landing site, forming stream-lined forms (once again let me stress that the fluid is the atmosphere).

[Phil Stooke]

The difference in geometry we are talking about here is basically a matter of which map projection each image is using. Are the different views point perspective, azimuthal equal area, gnomonic etc.? I don't know right now, but eventually we will get standard products in known projections, and then meaningful measurements can be made of didtant features. The choice of projection doesn't matter at the nadir (centre of the map) (because they all look the same), but it becomes increasingly important at a distance.

Anyway, it's interesting to speculate. I must admit I hoped to see more in the radar, but that may come later. The raw images may show more than these press versions...

Phil